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In Indonesia she took a day trek into remote mountains that involved negotiating rapids in a dug-out canoe and crossing gorges where the bridge was a felled tree with a single rope as a handrail. We had to wade through streams, and came out covered in leeches. At one point I was up to my waist in mud. But travelling to meet remote tribespeople who have never even left the jungle - it's exciting and fascinating, and that's what life, and travel, are all about.
Marlies says the main impediment most people imagine to such a journey is health. She had all the requisite jabs, but in 14 months didn't even get diarrhoea.
She kept her energy up by travelling for two or three days at a time, then resting for a similar amount. Any longer than that and you get used to a place, and it becomes difficult to tear yourself away.
Singles Holidays Over 60s. Overview. Retirement may be looming, however recent studies show that you're merely middle aged, with 60 today being seen as . Travel and relax on holiday with complete confidence that the hotel, cottage, lodge or apartment you choose will suit your every need. UK & Channel Island breaks Take the train to explore remarkable destinations, travelling through beautiful.
The main problem with such trips, she maintains, is that they become addictive. Sometimes we ran out of food, and had to barter our T-shirts with the natives.
The big tour companies are starting to set up tours aimed at older people to some of the more exotic places. I enjoyed it! Destination All Destinations Austria - St. Getting to Houston is easy, and the cargo boat was a bit like a cross-channel ferry without duty free shops. Start search.
A journey like that opens your mind, and to some extent your ability to sustain it is based on your temperament, even your experience of life. I enjoyed it! At 75, Jean Clough is a decade older than Marlies. Last year she booked a passage on a cargo ship sailing from Houston to Ecuador, via Mexico, Colombia and the Panama Canal. But how many people, let alone single women in their seventies, would actually do something like that? Getting to Houston is easy, and the cargo boat was a bit like a cross-channel ferry without duty free shops.
I was the only passenger - just the crew, and me, a boring old woman of I felt a bit sorry for them really! I suspect Jean is anything but a boring companion. She persuaded the ship's captain to allow her on the bridge for the entire passage through the Panama Canal. And after landing in Ecuador she explored the country by bus for three weeks.
Jean's breezy attitude is eclipsed by Irene "Morphy" Richards, who celebrated her 75th birthday this week, and thinks nothing of travelling independently around South America for months on end with her friend, Jo Taylor "a youngster of 67". Morphy's first foreign trip was an organised tour to the Normandy beaches, in But since retiring from the Electricity Board 20 years ago she has notched up thousands of miles of independent travel.
What are they going to do when they retire? Intrepid ladies are not making all the running.
In recent years they have been spending the English winters backpacking in south-east Asia. Despite a triple heart by-pass a few years back, Don has become an evangelist for travel to remote places. The big tour companies are starting to set up tours aimed at older people to some of the more exotic places.
But it's so limiting. If so, that would be a great pity because there has never been a wider range of choice and opportunities for holidays for people in their 50s and over.
Over 50s holidays that are cruise-ship based are sometimes perceived, wrongly, to be very expensive long-duration voyages. Certain cruises depart from the UK but you can also take short cruises to exotic destinations by flying somewhere first and joining your cruise there.
For example, there are some major inter-continental cruises that can whisk you to exotic locations over some weeks but others are much shorter. Some cruises might depart from say Gibraltar and visit two or three ports in the Western Mediterranean. Others might start in Florida and spend a few days cruising in the Caribbean. Examples of such might include:. All these cruises and others like them may be worth looking at, as you get to see lots of different places, sleep while you are travelling, and only having to unpack once! Coach holidays have been with us now for well over a century.
They cover the whole UK or you can take trips that explore continental Europe too. Just like cruises, you can also combine a flight with coach tours, as in the case of the USA where you can fly to NYC or San Francisco, then go on a famous Greyhound tour. This is a fantastic holiday.
There are plenty to choose from and there is certainly going to be one tailored to your fitness levels. The website Silversurfers also has some great ideas for UK walking holidays for over 50s and 60s here. Walking holidays can be a great way to get out and about in the fresh air and see some sights, no matter what your age or fitness level. This type of holiday has boomed in popularity over recent years, perhaps in part due to the large number of cooking-themed TV shows!
Typically, these breaks are often combined with exploration of the local area and if abroad, the local culture too. There are specialist companies that provide singles holidays for the overs all over the world — and the holidays are of all different types. The plethora of art galleries, restaurants and historic sights, can be a very different experience to something like a 3-day cruise or a week on the beach.
You can also put out of your mind all those old movie images of hacking your way through the undergrowth and dodging charging elephants. You can stay overnight in a lodge or go glamping, and see animals such as giraffes, zebras and wildebeest! Not only that but just like with people of any age, accidents and mishaps can arise when travelling.
Further reading: Over50s travel insurance. There has probably never been a better time for us over 50s to get out and see the world on holidays that have been specially crafted. Follow us on Twitter. Like us on facebook.